Bitachon Chapter 8

Now, let us explain the parameters of Bitachon according to the Rambam and the Ramban. Something that is yours and is in your possession is not included under Bitachon, because a person can then accomplish his needs for himself. For example, if someone has money in his pocket and wonders, why should I bother putting my hand in my pocket to take out money! I will have Bitachon and it will leave my pocket, and fly into my hand on it's own accord. Or, why should I bother putting food into my mouth? I have Bitachon it will enter my mouth by itself! It is self-understood that such a position is foolish and doesn't qualify as Bitachon. The same applies to anything similar.

However, if the desired thing is not in his possession, then certainly Bitachon applies. When it comes to something that it is yours but is not in your possession, then it depends on the circumstances. But if it is out of your possession because you lost it, it was stole, or it was lent to someone who refuses to pay it back, that is included in Bitachon. In these cases, it doesn't matter if the item is yours and not in your possession or the item is yours but not in your possession, either way, Bitachon applies in this case -- since in the final analysis, the item is beyond your control.

If a person thinks that only a specific person can solve his problem, that is not a lack of Bitachon depending on the following. If he is in the desert, then even if he thinks that only that person person can save him and nobody else, that is not a lack of Bitachon because the truth is there is no one else around who can provide the help. It is also clear that the person is the salvation that Hashem prepared for him. However, if the person thinks that without that specific person's help it will be impossible for him to be saved, that is a lack of Bitachon because is anything too wonderous for Hashem to accomplish? To think a certain person can help him out, that is not a lack of Bitachon; if he thinks that no one else can help him out but that specific person, that is certainly a lack of Bitachon. Perhaps, even in this there is no difference between a desert and a settlement. Even in the desert, if he thinks that nobody else can help him, that is a lacking of Bitachon.

The method for acquiring Bitachon depends on a person's spirit. If his spirit is strong, he can progress from the difficult cases and works his way towards the easier ones. He begins with the extreme form and then makes his way to the golden mean. If he is weak, he should start with the easier cases and work up to the more difficult ones, until he reaches the golden means.

As mentioned at the outset, the Pasuk says, "Trust in Hashem with all your heart and do not lean on your intellect” (משלי ג ה). The Gra explains: "You should not use your intellect even as a crutch." That is, according to all the opinions Bitachon can be independently sufficient for those who fear Hashem, needing no supplementary reasoning or efforts. Rather, this applies to other paths and Middot as well: A person should not rely upon his own intellect to grow, but rather he should improve according to the Torah and Mitzvot. As the Pasuk says, "Commit your way to Hashem” (תהלים לז ה). Certainly, one must not alter explicit commandments of Hashem in order to make them conform with his intellect.

Even when one is performing a Mitzvah, including when it's a public Mitzvah, such as teaching Torah to the public, he still falls under the requirements of Bitachon because he is being compensated for his work. If he performs the Mitzvah for free, then the more effort he invests, the more he is praised. But if he is compensated for his work, he must follow the dictates of Bitachon, because it is a business like any other. In other businesses, in fact, there are others who will straighten a person out. There is no one who will straighten one who is compensated for spiritual work. If he acts in a manner that doesn't square with Bitachon, then not only does he lack Bitachon but the Mitzvah he performs will even be ruined. For without Bitachon, he can't perform the Mitzvah in a confident manner, as he will be worried about his livelihood. As a result, he will do the Mitzvah improperly, since he has forgotten that it is all under the command of Hashem.

He must rely on Hashem for the final results of his actions. Who was greater that Shaul, who was chosen to be king? Chazal described him as being like a one-year-old who has never tasted sin. Shaul reasoned to himself from the Egla Arufah, that the Torah puts so much value into every human life. How can it be proper then to wipe out all of Amelak? Even a Bas Kol agreed with Shaul, and the proof is, as he was told, "Don't be too righteous” (יומה כב & קהלת ז טז). He was so convinced of his righteousness that he said to Shmuel: "Blessed are you to Hashem! For I have fulfilled the word of Hashem!" (שמאול טו יג). Nevertheless, the reality is that he turned away from the Hashem's command and after arguing with Shmuel about it, he realized that he erred and he admitted: "I have sinned." How much more so do people like us, who are easily led astray by out interests, at risk of losing all of our spirituality? We certainly cannot live with compromises and calculations about Hashem's Mitzvot. Instead, we must fulfill the Torah's commands without compromises or calculations. As for the final results, we must trust in Hashem.

Certainly when it comes to Bitachon, a person must ignore his own intelligence and abilities, and trust wholly in Hashem without efforts, so that he doesn't fall into the trap of attributing his success to himself.